Title

Into the Woods

Playwright

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine

Director

Stephen Thorne

Assistant Director

Michael Flores

Music Director

Mark Bruckner

Stage Manager

Jordan “J.J.” Jones

Category

Mainstage

First Rehearsal

January 22 (Music Rehearsal) January 29 (Staging Rehearsal)

Load In/Tech /Dress

February 23-29

Performances

March 1-3 & 7-9

Roles to be cast

Vocal Range

Gender (Presentation)

Description

Narrator

G2 to E4

ANY

An intellectual and pleasant storyteller who helps to orchestrate the show and illustrate lessons to the audience

Cinderella

G3 to G5

F

A young, earnest maiden who is constantly mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters

Jack

B2 to G4

M

The feckless Giant killer who is 'almost a man.' He is adventurous, naive, energetic, and bright-eyed

Jack's Mother

Bb3 to Gb5

F

Browbeating and weary, Jack's protective mother who is independent, bold, and strong-willed.

Baker

Ab2 to G4

M

A harried and insecure baker who is simple and loving, yet protective of his family. He wants his wife to be happy and is willing to do anything to ensure her happiness but refuses to let others fight his battles

Baker's Wife

F3 to G5

F

Determined and bright woman who wishes to be a mother. She leads a simple, yet satisfying life and is very low-maintenance yet proactive in her endeavors.

Cinderella's Stepmother

A3 to F#5

F

The mean-spirited, demanding stepmother of Cinderella

Florinda

C4 to Ab5

F

The mean-spirited, demanding stepmother of Cinderella

Lucinda

C4 to Ab5

F

The mean-spirited, demanding stepmother of Cinderella

Little Red Ridinghood

Bb3 to F5

F

A spoiled young girl who is strong-willed, quick-witted, fearless, yet youthful and naive

Witch

F3 to G5

F

Sarcastic, ugly-then-gorgeous, obsessive protector of Rapunzel who is straightforward and aggressive

Cinderella's Mother

E4 to F4

F

Deceased with her soul guarding and aiding her daughter from a tree

Mysterious Man/Woman

G2 to Eb4

ANY

A mischievous vagrant and nosy meddler. He is a good-natured protector and observer

Wolf

Bb2 to Gb2

M

Hungry and insatiable hunter who takes advantage of the weak by misleading and captivating his prey

Rapunzel

B3 to A5

F

A loopy-but-lovely maiden who is sheltered by the Witch and terribly lonely. She yearns to experience the world

Cinderella's Prince

B2 to F4

M

Vain and gorgeous, he is a disloyal lover who is currently searching for the next new, exciting thing.

Rapunzel’s Prince

C#3 to E4

M

Just as vain and gorgeous as his Prince brother, he is always chasing the newest, most exiting endeavor.

Giant's Wife

Mezzo (if sung)

F

The Giant's wife is an angry and vengeful 'monster.' She is seeking restitution for her loss.

Milky White

TBD (Tenor/Baritone/ Mezzo)

ANY

Jack’s cow

Synopsis

The story follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King's Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch's curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone's wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.

Notices

Please note that some roles may double. Those decisions will occur during casting.

"Non-traditional" casting is the norm for all directors in all productions, except those in which race, gender, disability, or age is the explicit issue. Casting is "non-traditional" when all roles in a script are open to casting without bias in terms of race, gender, disability, or age, so long as the actor can fulfill the artistic requirements of the role. The director of each production has full authority over, and responsibility for, casting. The only exceptions occur:

• When casting would conflict with another production's performance or rehearsal time OR
• When students, facing academic difficulty or probation, are assumed to need extra time to improve their standing.
• In both cases, the final arbitrator is the Department Casting Committee, comprised of the Departmental Executive Officer (DEO), Head of Acting, and the Director of Theatre (DOT).

Intimacy Breakdown

 ACT ONE

Stage Directions/ Planned Action

Character(s)

Notes

Jack’s Mother tells Jack he’s still a little boy and asks him to promise to stay home (Pause; she smacks him).

He promises.

(Jack’s Mother give him a peck on the cheek, exits)

Jack’s Mother,

Jack

Cinderella’s Prince asks Baker’s Wife if he can kiss her. She does not agree.

(He kisses her. She is stunned, steps away and turns to us)

She sings wondering what she’s doing

(she resumes the kiss, then pulls away)

They go back and forth with her wrestling with it being not right

(He kisses her again)

…

(The Prince scoops up the Wife and carries her into a glade...)

Baker’s Wife,

Cinderella’s Prince

(we return to Wife and Cinderella’s Prince, who are on the ground, kissing; he pulls away)

Prince gets ready to leave

(He gives her a quick kiss)

Baker’s Wife,

Cinderella’s Prince

(Little Red Ridinghood moves close to Cinderella, who comforts her)

Little Red Ridinghood,

Cinderella

Baker, Baker’s Wife

Married

Cinderella, Cinderella’s Prince

Get married at the end of Act I

Rapunzel, Rapunzel’s Prince

Get married at the end of Act I

Jack, Jack’s Mother

Familial intimacy

Little Red Ridinghood, Granny

Familial intimacy

Rapunzel, Witch

Familial intimacy

Stage Directions/ Planned Action

Character(s)

Notes

Cinderella twists Florinda’s hair up tightly and Florinda (screams and slaps Cinderella) (Florinda glares at her)

Cinderella,

Florinda

 While getting ready for the ball. Cinderella is trying to be nice.

 Jack’s mother (pinches his ear hard)

Jack,

Jack’s Mother

 Family bond. When she’s trying to get him to understand they need no less than 5 pounds in return for Milky White

 Baker’s Wife (Takes a scarf and tries to put it around his neck)

Baker takes it off right after and they start to argue

Wife (puts her hand across his mouth)

They see Jack

(Wife pushes Baker in Jack’s direction; she follows)

Baker,

Baker’s Wife

(Jack)

(Jack on stage, but not interacting yet)

Witch asks Rapunzel to let down her hair

(Rapunzel stops singing and her hair descends. The Witch, with great difficulty, and with great pain to Rapunzel, climbs up her hair...)

 Witch,

Rapunzel

(R.’s Prince)

(Rapunzel’s Prince appears on stage, not interacting)

(Baker goes to [Little Red] and grabs her cape)

Little Red asks for it back

(Baker suddenly dashes away with the cape under his arm. Little Red Ridinghood stands numb for a moment, then lets out a bloodcurdling scream, followed by hysterical weeping.)

(Sheepishly returning the cape, placing it on Little Red Ridinghood’s shoulders) Baker says he just wanted to be sure she really loved the cape and to be careful.

(She stomps hard on the Baker’s toe and exits)

Little Red Ridinghood,

Baker

 LRR: “Oh Grandmother. What a terrible, big, wet mouth you have!”

Wolf: “The better to eat you with!”

(Bloodcurdling scream from LRR as lights fade to black)

Narrator explains Wolf devouring LRR in a single bound.

 Wolf,

Little Red Ridinghood

Implied and briefly described Wolf attacking Little Red

 (Baker enters the house and timidly goes over to the bed, his knife stretched before him. He lets out a yelp when he sees the Wolf with his swollen belly)

Baker figures out the cape is inside the mouth of “Grandmother”

(He slits the Wolf’s stomach, then recoils in disgust)

LRR steps out of the wolf, bloodied

Granny emerges from Wolf and tells Baker to kill him

 Baker,

Little Red Ridinghood, Granny,

Wolf

 Baker has a knife

(Rapunzel lowers her hair)

(Wife yanks hair three times; each time Rapunzel lets out an increasingly loud scream. On the third yank, the hair falls into the Wife’s hands’ Wife runs away...)

Rapunzel,

Baker’s Wife

(Wife grabs a shoe)

([Cinderella and Baker’s Wife] engage in a violent tug-of-war over the shoe. Cinderella wins the battle and desperately runs off; Wife is embarrassed by her own behavior...)

Cinderella,

Baker’s Wife

(Witch drags Rapunzel on)

(Grabs Rapunzel’s hair, takes out scissors)

(Rapunzel screams in protest)

Witch punishing Rapunzel for seeing a Prince and accuses her of being ashamed of her. Rapunzel argues she was lonely and no longer a child. Witch is described as (Tender but intense) as she continues at Rapunzel. (Rapunzel keeps whimpering)

(Witch cuts Rapunzel’s hair... drags Rapunzel off.)

Rapunzel,

Witch

(Rapunzel’s Prince climbs Rapunzel’s hair...  Witch pushes him from the tower. He falls and screams, grabbing his eyes. The Witch laughs with delight)

Prince fell into a patch of thorns

(Rapunzel’s Prince stumbles helplessly offstage)

Witch,

Rapunzel’s Prince

Steward (goes to Wife and takes the shoe)

Wife (tries to grab the slipper back)

(They begin to struggle)

Steward,

Baker’s Wife

(Jack comes running onstage with a golden harp that sings)

Jack’s Mother (hits him), worried

Jack’s Mother,

Jack

Mysterious Man (Falls to the ground)

Baker (goes to his side)

Mysterious man dies

Mysterious Man,

Baker

Immediately after finding out Mysterious Man is Baker’s father

Stepmother struggles to help Florinda try on shoe.

She takes out a knife and cuts off Florinda’s toe

Florinda,

Stepmother

Stepmother cuts off Lucinda’s heel

Lucinda,

Stepmother

Stage Directions/ Planned Action

Character(s)

Notes

Jack’s Mother tells Jack he’s still a little boy and asks him to promise to stay home (Pause; she smacks him).

He promises.

(Jack’s Mother give him a peck on the cheek, exits)

Jack’s Mother,

Jack

(Little Red Ridinghood pulls a knife from beneath her cape and runs towards the giant; Baker restrains her, but she threatens the giant anyway)

Baker,

Little Red Ridinghood

(Baker grabs the Narrator and the group begins to pull him slowly towards the giant)

He becomes frantic.

(They pull him further)

(Slowly and reluctantly they let go of him)

(Witch screaming, racing twards the Narrator)

(She grabs him and drags him across the stage and pushes him into the wing towards the giant...)

Narrator,

Baker,

Bakers Wife,

Witch,

Florinda, Lucinda,

Little Red Ridinghood

Jack’s Mother is yelling at the giant.

(Steward comes behind her and slams her over the head with his staff. She staggers a moment, then stands motionless)

Steward,

Jack’s Mother

([Rapunzel dies]… Jack’s Mother moans and Baker goes to her side. He touches her head and quickly pulls his hand back to discover it covered in blood)

…

(Jack’s Mother expires; Little Red sidles up to her and stares)

(Baker’s Wife pulls her away...)

…

(Baker, Cinderella’s Father and Steward drag Jack’s Mother offstage)

Jack’s Mother,

Baker,

Baker’s Wife

Cinderella’s Father,

Steward

(Witch makes a noisy entrance with Jack in tow; she keeps a firm grip on his ear.)

Witch,

Jack